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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2018 14:15:46 GMT
As soon as I hear Ivan mention the fact that I should not be spending time with W05W, I decide that I will absolutely follow the opposite of his advice. I know very well that she is not showing off at all, for I know how to discern liars from those who tell the truth. One of the main things which my partner has taught me is that people's eyes never lie. I have observed W05W's eyes, and while they are wide, they are also bright, and when she blinks, she does so softly, and I this is how I know that I can trust her. I clench my fists and grind my teeth as Ivan pulls W05W closer to her, and shudder at the thought of the Death Cart. I have never seen it, but I have indeed heard it, as well as eavesdropped on some of my fellow inmates talking about it frequently at breakfast (I admired how they have become so desensitised to discussing some topics while eating; but, then, not everyone is as particular about their eating habits as myself). The images which my mind conjured up of it were that of a hellish nature, and frequented my nightmares the more I have thought about it. Ivan is right. The girl is brave. But, in his eyes it is the foolish kind, and in mine, it is the very kind of brave which makes you inspired to stand up for yourself and fight. His vision is clouded, though, and mine is crystal clear. This is the kind of thing my grandmother would say. It is ever so strange how similar I am becoming to her...The tension is high between us, the inmates, and the Chaser, and I am relieved when it is broken by a harsh yell telling us to get back inside. I briefly look up at the sky, in which the sun is high up, and I cannot believe that it is midday already. My vision might be crystal clear, but my sense of time is even more skewed than before. As W05W leads me back towards the shadows of the Asylum, which towers high above us, I hope that we won't be separated. I don't want to go back to my cell yet, my ward being one of the emptier ones. I still remember that I need to find out more about the rats, but I know that they won't be around this early in the day. We are all herded like mindless sheep, pushed and prodded by the Chasers, to form an orderly line, which we do as best as we can, though the majority of us is so weak that we can barely stand and the lines sway and scatter. They lead us through a side entrance, and I let out a small sigh of relief, for although I haven't been in the Asylum for long and surely do not yet know all of it's nooks and crannies, I have learned that this is the way toward the day-room. |
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W05W
Official Inmate
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Post by W05W on Jun 4, 2018 4:53:50 GMT
We are led a short distance before turning into the corridor which leads to the right wing on the main floor of the Asylum, it's our lucky day.
The day room is much like an indoor version of the walking yard, which is to say it is a place to dump us and forget about us until it is decided that we need treatments again, or they remember to feed us. I doubt we will be moved again until dinner, or perhaps not even until the nightly lock down.
It is much cooler here than it was out in the sun, and I am sorry we could not stay out longer. Ironically the day room has no windows and therefore no daylight can be seen. Instead the gaslights cast flickering shadows over the peeling wallpaper and cold stone floor. It is much like the cells, but larger. Furnishings are limited to a couple of old tables like those in the dining hall, and a few broken chairs. There are metal rings in the wall for bound Inmates to be chained. When the door closes behind us, no Chasers remain. This is a simple and effective way for them to get us out of the way without wasting staff on us, or going to the trouble of taking us back to our cell blocks.
I hear the lock click, sealing us in, and decide to get as comfortable as possible. It will be hours before we leave. I walk to the far end of the room and sit on the floor, the cool stone chilling me through my stockings. I watch as the other Inmates begin to mill about, talking quietly to each other (or themselves, in some cases), and settling in as I have.
I sigh, longing, as I always do during these long days, for something to read.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2018 16:24:17 GMT
The enormous day-room has a distinct aura all around it which, in some odd and somewhat almost twisted way, feels near-enough homely to me. The way in which the gaslights cast shadows on the walls, and the way in which the floor is always cold, and the air is musky and the furniture barely functional, very much reminds me of some of the cheaper inns and lodgings in which me and my partner have stayed during our travels when we were low on money. Out of all the places within the Asylum which I have seen so far, this is the one in which I feel most at ease, mainly because the Chasers are all gone once the doors have shut behind us, and this gives me a false sense of security. There is also the fact that there are so many of us, all kinds of girls all wearing their tattered striped stockings, that it gives me the feeling of the inmates outnumbering the Chasers and Doctors. I just try not to think about the fact that there are metal rings all over the walls and that if I am not careful, I may end up in chains and shackles, or, worse yet, in Quarantine. At least they can never put shackles upon my mind.We are left in the room for hours at a time, and that is both a blessing and a curse. We are alone, yes, but fights often break out between the more rowdy girls, and these can get rather violent, so none of us can really put our guard down, which is exhausting for me. We are also left with no access to water or food. I lick my chapped lips, longing for a sip of water - or, better yet, some kind of fruity, slightly alcoholic beverage. I follow W05W and sit down beside her and make myself comfortable, silently hoping that she won't tell me to leave her alone and stop following her around. I know that someone's constant company can get tedious, I have learned that while being forced to share a room with my entire family upon our first... escape.
Yes, escape, I think that is the best word to describe it. I notice that W05W sighs deeply, with a hint of longing which fills my heart with a dull ache as I realise that we are all longing for something in here, and, paradoxically, it is this longing which keeps us going. 'What's wrong?' I ask her. |
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W05W
Official Inmate
Posts: 101
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Post by W05W on Jun 5, 2018 5:33:37 GMT
W24A's voice pulls me from my thoughts and I smile a little, shrugging.
"I was just wishing I had something to read," I say, "I keep my book of poetry in my cell at all times, and though it is dear to me I admit I long for new books constantly."
I lean back against the wall, thinking back to the last time I got a new book. It was early August and my family had sent a bit of money as a birthday gift. I hadn't seen them since my marriage, though it mattered little. As soon as Husband left the house I called on our errand boy to go into town and purchase a new horror novel that had been published hardly 3 months before. Bram Stoker's "Dracula". Bless the young lad, he was too innocent to think me strange and cared not what I asked so long as I gave him a bit of money for sweets as well. My growing collection of fantasies always made Husband angry and more and more he kept me hidden at home to save himself from the embarrassing gossip that would ensue should anyone find out about my improper behavior. No good wife neglected her home and husband so, but I never strove to be such a one.
"Did you..oh..can you read?" I ask W24A, correcting myself as I remember that many girls here had not the privilege of an education.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2018 10:36:15 GMT
'Why, of course I can!' I say. Even though I have hardly had any proper education, let alone attended a school, following my father's illness my mother and grandmother have proceeded to teach me me the basics of literacy (my mother grew tired of my telling my stories out loud to her for hours at a time, and she thought that having me write them down would occupy me longer than household chores and sewing, the latter which I never learned to do properly, for I enjoyed pursuing drawing and flower-arranging as well as discussing Spirituality with my grandmother a lot more as a pastime) and numeracy (this was particularly important to my grandmother so that I could learn to understand numerology). 'I can also write, I assume that you can as well... I mean, I did write, I haven't done so since I have arrived here, of course. I wrote stories and poetry and such.'
I paused for a while. Have I mentioned this already to her, or not? And somehow, I couldn't remember a single poem I ever wrote, and the stories were but quiet whispers in my head. It must be the medication I took upon my first days in the Asylum, for I was too bewildered to know better.
'We need to get something to write with, and to write on, so that we can write our own stories.' An idea forms within my mind. 'And then we can swap and read each other's. Just in case the rat's aren't able to bring us any more reading material for a while. I mean, they will be, but it is good to have a back-up plan.'
Having a back-up plan was one of my partner's core beliefs. I just wished that he had a back-up plan of what to do in case I am incarcerated...
'Meanwhile... Have you heard of numerology?' I know that this is a risky business to undertake here, in the Asylum, but I shrug it off. We are all but numbers, right? And numbers aren't just that - they all have special meanings to them.
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W05W
Official Inmate
Posts: 101
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Post by W05W on Jun 8, 2018 11:38:21 GMT
“I’ve always preferred drawing and painting to writing, but I would happily do any of those now,” I say wistfully.
I am curious at her mention of this “numerology”. I was raised under the beliefs of the Church of England, but I have learned (and adopted) many “occult” and pagan beliefs from the other inmates, many of whom are here because of their heathen practices.
“What is numerology?” I ask curiously.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2018 13:33:43 GMT
'I used to draw too, but I never learned how to paint.' I say, recollecting fragmented memories of paint splattering everywhere, but not on the canvas like intended, in my attempt to create something exciting and more abstract than boring, drab portraits. 'My grandfather was a great painter, but he didn't live long enough to teach me.'
I am careful in choosing my next words, unsure of how W05W would react to the description of my grandmother's favourite practice; there could be two ways the conversation could go, and this is something I have learned from experience - I was either called a "heathen" and never spoken to ever again, or asked a million inquisitive questions. I preferred the latter, of course, for once I started to talk about a topic I enjoyed, it was hard for me to stop talking.
'Numerology is... Seeing relationships between numbers and events, words, names, and ideas.'
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W03Z
Official Inmate
"I'm running with the wolves tonight." -Aurora
Posts: 130
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Post by W03Z on Jun 11, 2018 18:00:30 GMT
The Chasers let me and the other W03 inmates into the day room later than the other inmates. It annoys me, for the Chasers must have been too drunk to notice that they'd left the cage door locked until now. Still, I am consumed with a rare happiness as I enter the room. The other girls are there, some I recognize, some I do not. In any event, I see W05W talking to a new girl I have never seen before. I make a promise to approach them, but first my teeth ache for something to chew on.
I tear in circles around the room, sniffing in every corner. A bone would be splendid, but even a stick would do, or an old striped stocking to tug on. Some of the rooms with windows have dead crows on the ledges, which are remarkably tasty, but unfortunately the day room does not have windows. Why would a day room have no windows? I wonder. Humans are so strange sometimes.
Finally I find a broken chair with a leg knocked out. I take the chair leg in my jaws and gnaw hungrily, while approaching W05W. I bound in circles around her and nuzzle her shoulder. I have always loved spending time with W05W, her calmness balances out my exuberance.
I drop my prized chair leg to talk to them. The new girl seems in awe of my seemingly endless energy, but W05W looks amused. She's clearly used to it by now. A drop of my saliva drips off the gnawed chair leg and lands on the new inmate's stocking. "Oh, I'm sorry. I've been distracted. This is my favorite room, do you want to know why?" I don't give the girl a chance to respond, I'm practically bouncing on my paws in excitement. "This asylum was built on a dump. I believe someone must have buried their dog in the dump a long time ago, because sometimes a ghost dog passes through this room." I am practically chasing my 'imaginary' tail in excitement. "Sometimes he will play if he is in the mood. I very much hope he shows up now, it would be lovely for you both to meet him."
Finally I pause, panting. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation on num-numerol-something? What is your name?"
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W05W
Official Inmate
Posts: 101
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Post by W05W on Jun 11, 2018 19:32:06 GMT
I am intrigued at W24A’s answer and I want to know more, but the door is thrown open abruptly and I see more inmates filing in, among them my own darling W03Z! I watch her face about the room, no doubt happy to be in the open space, and after a few turns she joins us, nuzzling me and quaking with energy.
I laugh and stroke her hair, making introductions “W24A, this darling wolf is W03Z, she is positively wonderful and my very dear friend!”
W03Z has dropped the chair leg she was carrying and joins us, exclaiming about her ghostly friends and asking to join the conversation about numerology.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2018 20:03:47 GMT
W03Z's behaviour, which is quite a lot different from the demeanour of the majority of the other inmates, puzzles me at first, but I relax seeing that W05W seems to know her well - this is how I know that I can trust her. There is something about W03Z which makes me feel a long-forgotten giddiness my chest, for the hyperactive energy around her is infectious. I wish I wasn't so drained, for I am sure that if I was able to fully focus, I would have been able to see an orange aura around her, perhaps with a hint of red.
My eyes widen as she mentions the ghost of the dog, and I smile, glad to meet yet another girl who doesn't question the existence of ghosts.
'It's okay, don't worry. I was just getting started, you are more than welcome to listen!' I sit more comfortably, feeling at ease with a larger audience - it reminds me of my seances a little. 'I'm W24A, it is so lovely to meet you!' I grin, glad to have been given the opportunity to make new friends.
The more there is of us, the stronger we are.
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W03Z
Official Inmate
"I'm running with the wolves tonight." -Aurora
Posts: 130
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Post by W03Z on Jun 21, 2018 13:34:33 GMT
"W24A" I muse. "Just a moment...Aren't you the inmate who adores making tea? I think I've heard whispers about you in the cell. I don't know if this helps your tea-making endeavors, but there's a patch of mint..." I trail off and sniff the air. "Ten paces from the west wing of the walking yard. I can smell the mint in that direction. Of course, you'd need to be outside to get it!" I am accustomed to using my wolf senses to detect things for the inmates - particularly food items, and I hope my offer of mint will act as a token of friendship.
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W05W
Official Inmate
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Post by W05W on Jun 21, 2018 15:48:40 GMT
I smile as W03Z talks of tea and mint, once again in awe of her incredible senses. I am also happy to see how quickly W24A seems to accept W03Z's odd behavior. I have seen many girls shy away from her animal nature, afraid of what they do not understand.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2018 19:10:20 GMT
'Why, yes, that indeed is me!' I exclaim. I can't believe that I am being somewhat recognized within the Asylum already. I grin, trying to ignore the thoughts at the back of my mind about whether that is a good or a bad thing.
My heart begins to race as W03Z informs me about where I can possibly find mint, for mint leaves, if dried in proper conditions, will very much make a fine tea. I completely forget that I was to explain numerology, and perhaps other spiritualist topics, my mind completely preoccupied with the thought of the warm, fragrant beverage.
'Thank you!' I exclaim, and drop my voice to a whisper, 'We will need to find a way to s-'
Suddenly, the door opens with a loud thud, making the walls shake and bits of dust fall from the ceiling onto our heads. All the inmates freeze as a Chaser's silhouette appears in the doorway, his eyes glistening menacingly in the faint light. His eyes scan all the faces in the room, and stop when his eyes lock with mine.
I recognise him instantly. It's Ivan.
'W24A, Madam Mournington would like t' see you.' He says, loudly, so that everyone can hear. He approaches me and grabs me by my arm before my instincts kick in and the two other girls sitting next to me get a chance to react. I try to scratch at him, to bite his arm so that he lets me go, but I am too weak.
He slings me over his shoulder like I am nothing but a sack of dirt, and carries me out of the room, slamming the door behind us, making sure that he locks it.
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W05W
Official Inmate
Posts: 101
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Post by W05W on Jun 23, 2018 6:25:00 GMT
Ivan barges into the room so abruptly I have no time to react. He throws me a filthy look, though, as he turns to leave with W24A over his shoulder. The door slams and I hear the lock slide into place.
“What on Earth could Madam Mournington want with her?” I wonder aloud. Usually our headmistress keeps as far from us as possible, only present when her master key is needed. She certainly doesn’t have anything to do with the treatment we endure...
I throw a worried glance at W03Z.
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W03Z
Official Inmate
"I'm running with the wolves tonight." -Aurora
Posts: 130
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Post by W03Z on Jul 16, 2018 20:25:30 GMT
I growl darkly as Ivan approaches. He is one of the most despicable Chasers. The last time I'd found a stick to gnaw on, he'd snapped it in half! So, when he grabs W24A, I bark loudly and nip at his legs. He throws a scowl in my direction and kicks me away, rather roughly.
W05W gives me a worried glance, and I sigh. "I don't like this. When Madame Mournington last spoke to me, it was when she picked me up from the zoo and brought me here. A conversation with Madame Mournington almost always means your living situation is going to get worse."
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